Mondi

Located near Ponte Milvio in northern Rome, Mondi is the pastry shop Romans go to when they want to take sweets to someone's house to make a good impression. You can enjoy them on location – don't miss out on the assorted mini-shortbread crusts filled with cream and topped with fruit. You can either stand up at the bar, drink a coffee and eat the pastry with your fingers, or grab a table and be treated to proper silverware and plates. Mondi is a favourite with the well-heeled locals in the surrounding residential district and gets quite chaotic at traditional feeding times: around 9am, from 2-3pm, and again at around 6-7pm, when assorted savoury pastries and snacks are served for aperitivo. • Via Flaminia 468, +39 06 333 6466; mondiroma.it

Said

Turn into a courtyard just off Via Tiburtina and prepare to be transported into a chocolate lover's paradise. The Said chocolate factory was founded in Rome's San Lorenzo district in 1923 and continues to operate, selling handmade chocolates and other confections. Walk past the chocolate displays and the hallway leads to a cafe where coffee, tea and sweets are served in rooms decked out in antique chocolate-making instruments and moulds. The caprese (a chocolate cake made with finely ground almonds) and torta di pere e cioccolato (chocolate cake with pear slices) are dense and moist. •Via Tiburtina 135, +39 06 446 9204, said.it

Caffè Sant'Eustachio

A few hundred metres from the Pantheon, this historic coffee shop, named for a Christian convert and martyr, tops the list of nearly every Roman coffee drinker's favourite destination. Caffè Sant'Eustachio was founded in 1938 and the furnishings have remained largely intact, right down to the stainless steel bar. Slightly more modern is the wood-fuelled hand-calibrated coffee roaster which dates to the 1940s. The shop was taken over by brothers Raimondo and Riccardo Ricci in 1999 and they continue the tradition of serving excellent coffee, often from organic and fair trade growers. Pay at the till first then elbow your way to the counter for your caffe espresso or cappuccino, both of which will be served zuccherato (with sugar) unless you indicate otherwise. If you prefer to sit, grab a table on the piazza outside, but expect to pay triple. Caffè Sant'Eustachio also serves very good pastries, which are displayed near the till. •Piazza Sant'Eustachio 82, +39 06 688 02048, santeustachioilcaffe.it

Cristalli di Zucchero

Considered by some to be the best pastry shop in Rome, Cristalli di Zucchero (literally, sugar crystals) specialises in miniature pastries and pretty cakes. The original location in Monteverde has a shaded patio where you can sit and have a coffee and a pastry. There are also savoury sandwiches to choose from and savoury snacks dominate the early evening aperitivo hour. A second location near Circus Maximus (Via di San Teodoro 88) serves similar items, but without the benefit of seating. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile stop for a pick-me-up or when visiting Rome's largest farmers' market a few doors down (Saturdays and Sundays).•Via di Val Tellina 114, + 39 06 582 30323, cristallidizucchero.it

Settembrini Caffè

Located just next door to chef Luigi Nastri's well-loved Ristorante Settembrini, the cafe serves coffee, pastries, snacks and light meals all day long. Patrons can stand up at the bar for a quick coffee and a bite, or find a seat for table service. There is seating inside and out. When the weather is amenable, the sidewalk outside is packed with young professionals, ladies who lunch and local business people. In addition to muffins and pastries, Settembrini Caffè serves sandwiches, wraps, and supplì (fried stuffed rice balls). There is also a more extensive menu of pastas, soups, salads and mains for those looking for a proper meal. • Via Settembrini 21, +39 06 323 2617, ristorantesettembrini.it

Andreotti

This cafe continues to turn out traditional Roman pastries like cornetti (the local take on croissant) and maritozzi con la panna (sweet buns filled with whipped cream), as well as an assortment of cakes and tarts. There are tables on the pavement along Via Ostiense where you can stop for a snack and a coffee, ideally after a trip to Central Montemartini, an ancient sculpture collection set within a converted power station. • Via Ostiense 54b; +39 06 575 0773, andreottiroma.com

TAKE-AWAY PASTRY SHOPS

Regoli

Founded in 1916, this pastry shop is located in the Esquilino neighbourhood just a stone's throw from Piazza Vittorio. The planned 19th-century zone has its share of gourmet food shops, but this is among the most historic. Regoli is one of the few old school pastry shops to survive in central Rome. Its maritozzi (sweet buns filled with whipped cream), bavaresi, crostate (jam tarts) and torte di fragoline (cake with chantilly cream and wild strawberries) are made with recipes as old as the shop's throwback interior design. Regoli doesn't serve beverages or have seating, so order some pastries to take away and enjoy them on the benches in nearby Piazza Vittorio. • Via dello Statuto 60, +39 06 487 2812, pasticceriaregoli.com

Biscottificio Innocenti

The scent of freshly baked cookies wafts down Via della Luce in the quiet side of Trastevere beckoning passersby to this family-run shop. For more than a century, Biscottificio Innocenti has been baking tea cookies and cakes for a loyal clientele. You will find an assortment of items available year round, including jam tarts and cookies made with ground almonds or accented with dabs of jam, while certain seasons call for special recipes. During Carnivale (either in late February or early March), step in for frappe (crispy strips of fried dough dusted with confectioner's sugar). The days leading up to the Feast of San Giuseppe (19 March) see the sale of bigne (cream-filled choux pastry). •Via della Luce 21; +39 06 580 3926

ICE-CREAM PARLOURS

Fatamorgana

A few blocks from Villa Ada and the Via Salaria, the original Gelateria Fatamorgana sells Maria Spagnuolo's edible works of art. Each variety is made from all natural ingredients, without additives or artificial flavours, and many are lactose-free. Spagnuolo's whimsical creations and often draw on seasonal produce, spices and herbs. In the summer, try panacea (ginseng, almond milk, and mint) with ananas e zenzero (pineapple and ginger). There are a number of chocolate variations ideal for winter, including Kentucky (dark chocolate and tobacco). Fatamorgana also offers gluten-free gelato, a rarity in Rome where so many shops use additives containing gluten. There is a second location in Prati near the Vatican museums located at Via Bettolo 7. • Via di Lago di Lesina 9/11, +39 06 863 91589, gelateriafatamorgana.it

Il Gelato di Claudio Torcè

If there is one person responsible for the relatively recent and exponential improvement of Rome's gelato culture, it is Claudio Torcè. He has trained some of Rome's premier gelatai (Maria Spagnuolo of Fatamorgana included) and prides himself on producing more than 100 all-natural gelato flavours without the slightest compromise in quality. Options range from the traditional chocolate and strawberry (both of which are exceptional) to unique flavours such as Sichuan pepper and black sesame. Torcè now has seven locations throughout Rome and its suburbs. The most central are found near the Circus Maximus on Viale Aventino 59 and near the Ara Pacis Museum in Piazza Monte d'Oro. • The original shop is at Viale dell'Aeronautica 105, +39 06 512 8948, ilgelatodiclaudiotor

• Katie Parla is a food historian and author of the food and travel blog Parla Food